We’re drawing closer to the end of the models from my Crisis Protocol Core Set with today’s Villain – Doctor Octopus! Otto Octavius Von Biz Markie to his friends, of which there are many. Well, at least five sinister friends…

This just leaves one more to go from the set proper, though I have been doing a couple of extras alongside, so the proper final model isn’t near complete yet – I’ve only just finished the cleanup and assembly in fact (though by the time you read this, it should be primed at the very least!)

This sculpt is pretty static. Being from the core box it has a few too many parts in some ways, and lacks the overly-dynamic pose that many of this game’s models have had for some time now. I’ve painted him in a pretty bright, traditional Doc Ock scheme inspired by the comics I used to read years ago, though I do have to admit that I’m quite partial to Alfred Molina’s portrayal and outfit in the Sony/MCU films. Perhaps I’ll add a more bespoke 3D-printed version down the line in more muted, realistic tones.

The tentacles on this model were a pain in the arse in more ways than one. Aside from being a nightmare for assembly, I painted them with Vallejo Metal Colour, then used Tamiya Panel Wash to fill in the lines – and they looked fantastic! One coat of varnish later and all of that lustre had gone. I went over them with Vallejo Metal Varnish, and… they still looked crap. So I repainted them again with Metal Colour, then tried to blackline them again, but the Metal Colour didn’t come out as well as it had the first time, and the Panel Wash was a bit blotchy. In the end, I just gave up since I was tired and went for “good enough”. If I use mineral psirits to try and remove the Panel Wash remnants, I’m sure it’ll do a real number on the Metal Colour. The messiness is more nociable in these “glamour” photos than in hand, so I’ll just take the L on this one since I really didn’t enjoy painting this model.

Does Doc Ock count as a Monster for the purposes of Monster March? I’m sure he’s been called a Monster by various victims across his villainous comics run (and probably by Spidey himself on a fair few occasions) and his stature is on the larger side (even allowing for the larger scale of MCP figures). Only Swordmaster can tell us the final answer to that, though!